Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Recipes, Travels, and Stories

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  • Menu planning week of June 28

    We don’t have as much going on this week.  We don’t have anything planned for a few days, so that will be nice.  We will just relax on those days.

    Instead of assigning certain days to the meals, I’ve just listed them.  I will carry it over to the next week if I don’t make a certain meal.

     Breakfasts:

    cereal, mini pancakes, Snickerdoodle muffins, graham muffins

     Lunches:

    Sandwiches (ham or peanut butter), left-overs

     Dinners:

    *Cheeseburger macaroni

    50’s Prime Time meatloaf with mashed potatoes

    Hashbrown casserole with ham and sausage

    Almost famous chicken sandwiches with waffle fries (Food Network Magazine – July/August 2010) – The sandwiches will be served on homemade hamburger buns.

    **Crockpot Cantonese sweet and sour chicken served over rice

    **Italian beef sandwiches on homemade hamburger buns with potato chips

    (All meals will be served with green beans, mixed veggies, corn, or peas.  We might even have a salad with the meals.)

     *Carry-over from last week

    **One of these will be served on Saturday.  My sister was visiting and told me she would like one of those meals.

    Many of these recipes are from a blog I found last week called Eat at Home.  Tiffany has a lot of great recipes.  She also creates menus with grocery lists for an entire week.

    For more great meal plans, visit. I’m an organizing junkie.
    Have a great week!!

  • S’Mores Snack Mix

    I saw this recipe on another new blog (at least to me) called Mommy’s Kitchen.  Since it both looked easy to make and yummy, I knew I needed to try it.

    Today we went to a local outdoor mall to play in the water fountain.  I decided to pack our lunch and knew that the S’Mores snack mix would be a perfect complement to our lunch.  When I had the Imaginative One try the snack mix, he wanted to eat only the marshmallows and chocolate chips and not try the Golden Grahams cereal.  I then showed him that you could make miniature S’Mores using two Golden Grahams, a marshmallow, and a chocolate chip.  He tried it and loved it.  The imaginative one figured out the recipe on his own.  He was so proud of himself.

    Later that evening, we saw fireworks at a Tattoo event.  The Air Force sponsored the tattoo, which is free to the public.  They have a concert and planes that do tricks.  The evening ends with fireworks.  My father-in-law decided to take my niece, nephew, and two sons to see the fireworks.  We sat across the street from where the Air Force Museum.  Since we were going to sit and wait, I decided to make some snack mix to bring along.  My mother-in-law and niece both agreed that it was yummy!

    This recipe is a keeper.

    Without further ado, the recipe

    S’mores Snack Mix

    Stars of the Recipe:

    • 15 oz box of Golden Grahams
    • 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows
    • 12 oz bag of chocolate chips

    Steps:

    1. In a large bowl, mix up the ingredients.
    2. Enjoy!

    It’s that simple!  This is a real winner.

  • Snickerdoodle muffins

    Snickerdoodle Muffins

    I love making Snickerdoodles at Christmas, especially with green and red baking sugar instead of regular granulated sugar.  So when I saw a recipe for Snickerdoodle muffins on a new blog (at least for me), I knew I needed to make them.  Today provided a great opportunity to make them.  I was going to pick up the Imaginative One from VBS and visit Mary Jane before heading to the library. We ate our lunch at her house while visiting. I brought Mary Jane a homemade treat of Snickerdoodle muffins. We all agreed these muffins are keepers.

    Without further ado, I present you the recipe for Snickerdoodle muffins. 

    Snickerdoodle muffins

    from Eat at home cook

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 2 c. of all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 tsp. salt
    • 2. tsp. cream of tartar
    • 1 tsp. baking soda
    • 1 stick of butter, softened
    • 3/4 c. sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 c. milk
    • 1 & 1/2 tsp. vanilla
    • 1 Tbsp. Sugar and 1 tsp. Cinnamon combined and set aside

    Steps:

    1. Mix the flour, salt, cream of Tatar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Put aside.
    2. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
    3. Add the eggs. (Break the eggs in a bowl and add them one at a time.)
    4. Add the milk and vanilla. Mix until combined.
    5. Stir in the dry ingredients until well moistened. (Put a little bit at a time.)
    6. Fill muffin cups 2/3rds of the way full of batter.
    7. Sprinkle the muffins with cinnamon sugar.
    8. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes clean.
    9. Enjoy!!!

    You are going to want to make these.

  • Is it my birthday?

    Ever since January, the Wee One has asked me if it was his birthday yet?  I would tell him no and then tell him how many more months until his birthday.  When June came, he would ask every day instead of just every once in a while.  We would talk about how many more days were left. 

    On Father’s Day, we went to my mother’s to celebrate with her.  We decided to eat at a local park, but since there was a heat advisory, we ate in the shelter.  The boys fed the ducks in the pond after they finished lunch.  The Wee One got to open up his birthday gifts.  (So did the Imaginative One because his birthday is coming up.)

    Later that evening, we went to my in-laws for our Sunday meal.  After dinner, we celebrated his birthday with cupcakes and ice cream treats.  One of his church buddies came over to help him celebrate his birthday.

    The Wee One’s birthday cupcakes – His favorite colors are orange and blue.

    When the Wee One blew out his cupcakes, he kept blowing and blowing.  Finally, his daddy had to help him.

    His brother took extra care with the wrapping of the gift.  I had to stop putting tape on the package because he wanted many tapes.


    We went to a free movie at the local movie theater on the Wee One’s actual birthday.  We saw The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything.  Afterward, we got the tickets for Toy Story 3 and then ate at Red Robin.  After we ate Red Robin, the Wee One and I met with the Imaginative One and daddy to see Toy Story 3, a very good movie.  The Wee One went for a swim when we got home.  Later in the evening, we went on a play date with my MOP’s group.  Of course, the Wee One found a mud puddle and fell in.  So we had to go home.  All in all, I think he had a delightful fifth birthday.


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    Stay kind!

    Have a magical day,
    Traci

  • Easy Peasy BBQ chicken

    This really isn’t a recipe.  Instead it’s a method.  I take chicken pieces – legs, breasts, thighs, or wings – and place them in the crockpot.  Then I take a bottle of bbq sauce and pour it over the chicken.  Then I cook the chicken all day on low (6 to 8 hours).  The chicken falls off the bone and is delicious.

    You can be fancy and put up onion in the crockpot with the chicken.  To be even fancier, you could cook up the onion first and then put it in the oven.

    Told you this really wasn’t a recipe but more of a method.

    For those who need a recipe:

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 1 to 2 pounds of chicken – legs, thighs, breasts, wings
    • Bbq sauce – Your favorite
    • onions, chopped – Optional

    Steps:

    1. Place chicken in the slow cooker.
    2. Add onions if desired.
    3. Pour barbecue sauce over the chicken.
    4. Cook for 6 to 8 hours on low.
    5. Enjoy!

    Stay kind!

    Have a magical day,
    Traci

  • Menu plan for week of June 21, 2010

    It’s that time of the week again – menu planning.  The imaginative one has Vacation Bible School in the morning all week, so I need to make sure he has breakfast ready to go for him so he can eat there if necessary because he doesn’t move very fast in the morning.

    Monday –
    Breakfast – baby pancakes
    Lunch – “Bento” style lunches at M.J.’s house
    Dinner – bbq chicken wings, pasta Roni, veggies

    Tuesday – The Wee One’s 5th birthday!
    Breakfast – cereal
    Lunch – “Bento” style lunches
    Dinner – The Wee One has asked for Wendy’s for dinner.

    Wednesday –
    Breakfast – cereal
    Lunch – sandwiches
    Dinner –meatball subs, broccoli salad, potato chips, fruit (Just scroll down)

    Thursday –
    Breakfast – cereal
    Lunch – “Bento” style lunches at M.J.’s
    Dinner – baked apple french toast with bacon

    Friday –
    Breakfast – cereal
    Lunch – sandwiches
    Dinner – Cheeseburger macaroni, veggie, rolls or biscuits

    Saturday –
    Breakfast – cereal
    Lunch – sandwiches
    Dinner – homemade pizza

    For more great menus, visit I’m an organizing junkie – Menu Plan Monday.

    I hope you have a great week!

  • I wish you would dance

    Last night, the boys gave the performance of their lifetime.  They now think they are famous and their dance video will be in the library.

    My mother-in-law offered to pay and take the imaginative one to dance class, so last year, he took ballet.  This past year he decided to take tap dance.  She then offered to take the wee one to dance class, also.  In late November, he started taking a tumbling class.  They practice and practice until it is time for their big show, which occurred last night. 

    During the actual recital, you are prohibited from taking any pictures or videos of the performance.  However, you can take as many pictures and videos as you want during the rehearsal.  Here are some pictures from the rehearsal.

    The Wee One checking himself out in the dressing room’s mirror.  He liked turning those lights on and o,ff which about blinded me when they were on.

    The imaginative one in his costume

    The imaginative one doing a staying alive pose.

    The imaginative one stole the show with his special move and bow.

    The wee one loved posing in his costume. 

    This is my favorite pose because it shows the Wee One’s personality.

    The Wee One acting “normal.”

    During the practice, the Wee One had to looking around the stage because there is so much to see up there.  He also twirled around in place.

    The Wee One at the end of his performance

    If given a chance, I hope you dance.

  • The Wee One’s birthday

    The wee one is excited about turning the big 5.  He’s been talking about it since January.  We keep having to tell him that it is so many months away.  Now that it is June, he keeps asking me every day, is it my birthday?!?  I have to tell him, no, you have so many days left.  He’s on the final countdown because he only has  2 more days left until he’s a whole handful (like he already isn’t one).  Although when you ask him how many days he has left, he will tell you that he has 2 weeks. 

    We are celebrating his birthday tonight.  He is excited, but I think it is because he will get gifts.  We tell him the gifts are for other people, but he doesn’t believe us.  The imaginative one got him a gift last weekend.  It’s a book about reptiles right up the wee one’s alley.  Today we were given Toy Story paper from my mom, so the imaginative one had to use it to wrap his brother’s gift.  He put a lot of tape on it.  That is until I told him he had had enough of the gift.  Then the imaginative one had to pick out a card from my stash.  He wrote a nice note to his brother on the card.  Then he had to tape the card to the gift.  Again he had to use lots of tapes.  The funniest thing was he put his brother’s first and last name on the envelope.  It’s nice that he cares so much for his brother.

    I can’t believe my 6-pound, 8-ounce baby boy is now a 32-pound 5-year-old boy who speaks his mind.

    I will get pictures of the Wee One when I find the baby pictures on my hard drive. 

  • Sausage-sauerkraut skillet dinner

    One of my favorite blogs is Cooking during stolen moments. Kate, the author, often has good recipes that my family enjoys eating. One of those recipes is Sausage-Sauekraut skillet dinner. I saw the recipe when she posted it in May and decided I needed to put it on my menu plan.

    To be honest, I’m the only one who enjoys eating sauerkraut. Hubby does eat it; however, it’s not his favorite. When I made it on Monday, the boys humored me and tried the sauerkraut. They both decided they were not fans of it. They both loved the sausage. I could have saved time and effort and cooked up the sausage. Hubby did enjoy it, and I loved it. But I love sauerkraut, so the likely hood of me liking it is great.

    Things I did differently:
    I used turkey sausage. There is no difference in taste.
    Instead of canned sauerkraut, I used refridgerated sauerkraut.  I also rinsed off the sauerkraut before putting it in the skillet.
    I also used three potatoes.

  • Reading to Therapy Dogs

    My Wee one and Imaginative one are participating in the summer reading program at our local library.  The library has a lot of cool activities for them to participate in.  One of them is reading to the therapy dogs.  The imaginative one loves to read to them.  He doesn’t choose easy books to read.  Instead, he picks harder books or chapter books to read to the dogs.

    He fell in love with this golden retriever, Lacy.  When she was at the library, he ended up reading/spending an hour with her.  He read How I Became a Pirate and then listened to other children read to her.  Her handler ended up taking pictures of the imaginative one reading to her.

    Here is another picture of him with her.